PhiladelphiaSpeaks blog thread on Detroit

**lalynch** · January-24-10, 12:32 AM

Someone in Philly alerted me to this thread titled 'Detroit - will it ever turn around?'
Interesting to see how some Philadelphian's view Detroit.

http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...rn-around.html

**Patrick** · January-24-10, 12:55 AM

I'll try this again: Detroit city started dying when Henry Ford moved his entire workforce out to River Rouge in 1928. The Depression killed off the smaller manufacturers [[hundreds of them) and GM and Chrysler followed Ford out of the city later

I don't think so

**Fury13** · January-24-10, 01:43 AM

The moving of auto-related factory jobs to new plants outside city limits certainly DID begin the exodus to the suburbs. Whether you want to argue it started in the '20s or after WW II is relatively immaterial. People began to move closer to their jobs to new single-family homes after the new, more efficient, one-story plants were built in "greenfield" suburban areas.

**gnome** · January-24-10, 07:29 AM

I see Hudkina slipped in there and smacked them around a bit. All in all, they have a pretty realistic picture of Detroit. The thing I find interesting is that they think Henry Ford pulled out in 1928. Didn't Hank move to "suburban" Highland Park in 1914? jeeze, to point to a cause for our decline and go back to 1914, hmm why stop there? How about Hull giving up the Fort to the British? How about the fire of 1805? Or even when Jjaba last visited the eastside in 1714?

Bearinabox · January-24-10, 07:39 AM

Originally Posted by gnome

I see Hudkina slipped in there and smacked them around a bit.

What I want to know is, where were these pictures taken? Hudkina?

**Patrick** · January-24-10, 11:18 AM

God damn, I wonder how mich time Hudkina spends defending Detroit online lol. Good for him. he is one a number of forums as well.

**hudkina** · January-24-10, 12:28 PM

LOL. You know I can't help myself. Those pictures are from the Mexicantown area. The first one is on Cavalry just south of Vernor Hwy. The second one is on Bagley between Hubbard and Vinewood.

**pontiac4ever** · January-24-10, 12:54 PM

Good job hudkina. They started backpeddling after you yousted.

Bearinabox · January-24-10, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by hudkina

Those pictures are from the Mexicantown area. The first one is on Cavalry just south of Vernor Hwy. The second one is on Bagley between Hubbard and Vinewood.

Thanks!

**lalynch** · January-24-10, 02:08 PM

Wow, terrific photos Hudkina.

**Fury13** · January-24-10, 02:26 PM

I think a few of those pics Hudkina posted may have been Grosse Pointe Park. Even so, most photos were of houses in the few decent neighborhoods left.

And most of Detroit's housing stock WAS wood-frame, especially what was built in the boom years, circa 1900-1925. Take a drive through the eastside from Mt. Elliott over toward Conner sometime, using side streets. Same story for the North End and the part of Detroit near Hamtramck. Ditto for Corktown and SW Detroit. And any vacant lots you see once likely had wood-frame houses on them.

Your brick houses are in newer parts of the westside and the far east side, as well as wealthy areas like Palmer Woods, Indian Village, Sherwood Forest, etc. Residential Detroit circa 1960 [[the city was built out and not decimated yet at that point) was probably 70 percent wood-frame and 30 percent brick.

I think the Philadelphians on that forum are by and large courteous and seem to be rooting for Detroit. I don't sense any glee in our downfall from them.

**pffft** · January-24-10, 03:05 PM

I think the tone on that Philly forum is pretty positive, as well. Honest and yet not muck-raking.
I like the fact that it seems to be dawning on them, that lack of support of a home industry [[the auto industry) has led directly to this.

**lalynch** · January-24-10, 05:42 PM

On the Philly web forum someone felt sorry for Detroit for the so called lack of row houses.
However, not everyone wants to live in a row house. My family is from Philadelphia with my Dad's family from the Nicetown of North Philly. Yes, he grew up in numerous row houses. My mom is from West Norritown out in Montgomery County and did not grow up in a row house. My dream my entire life has been to live in a Philly row house but my husband shudders at that thought. He thinks that we are two close to our neighbers here in Lincoln Park.

**Lowell** · January-24-10, 08:34 PM

Fabulous pics Hudkina! Detroit representin' big time. Thanks.

**iheartthed** · January-24-10, 09:59 PM

Hudkina:

I was wondering did you just take those photos at random, or do you know the families who live in those houses? I noticed a photo of the house where one of my friend's grew up in the Philadelphia thread.

**hudkina** · January-25-10, 01:00 AM

I took pictures of them because I liked them, not because I knew the people who lived in them. They were random, but I didn't just randomly pick them.

None of the pictures are from the Grosse Pointes. They are all from Greater Downtown, Southwest Detroit, Sherwood Forest, the Golf Club, and the Grandmont-Rosedale area. The Google Streetview pics are from random streets on the West Side and Far East Side. I couldn't even tell you exactly where they came from.